12 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND THEIR ENVIIiOXMENT 



second, that never liave one-fourth of the peo})le at hirge in the 

 ishands heen in active sympathy' with Aguinaldo, and not that nuni- 

 her woukl have supported him had he not exhibited 80 much armed 

 force and allowed them to be misled in regard to the intentions of the 

 American Government ; third, that if an American army of five thou- 

 sand men had been landed at Cavite at tlie same time Admiral Dewey 

 destroyed the Spanish fleet, it would have been received by the people 

 witli jo}'OUs acclaim, and would have been able to go through tiie 

 entire length of the islands, heartily welcomigd b}' the })eople, with no 

 thought of resisting us. Several Filipino leaders admitted to me, in 

 the iiresence of some of our army officers, that there would never 

 have been active resistance to the United States Government, and we 

 would hardl}'^ have heard of Aguinaldo exce])t as a former leader, if 

 we had been in a position to send our garrisons where Aguinaldo sent 

 his at the beginning of our occuijation of the Philii)pines. Our gov- 

 ernment, however, cannot be ])lamed for not doing this, because it 

 was a physical imi)ossibility to have landed an army at Cavite when 

 Dewe}' arrived there, and in those days we did not dream that 

 Aguinaldo's fighting the Spaniards meant the long warfare with him 

 which has since followed. 



FALSE EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE 



It is well to bear in mind that there has at no time been any 

 serious resistance to us by the i)eople in any part of the islands where 

 the Tagaloc garrisons or Tagaloc army had not already been located 

 or had not operated. A most extensive system of false education, 

 which is not generally known in America, was also carried on among 

 the Filipino masses during the long period between the fall of Manila, 

 in August, 1898, and the outbreak on February 4, 181)9. By a perni- 

 cious system of circulars, letters, and newspai)ers printed from the 

 presses of Manila and Malolos the people were taught to believe most 

 misleading reports about the American ])eople and the American 

 Government. Men, women, and children were exhorted to distrust 

 us, and lies without limit were told of our own government to men 

 and women to make them fear and hate us. I have in ni}' possession 

 many illustrations of this l3'ing literature. Added to this was the 

 constant hope of the Filij)inos, inspired by matter that came from 

 America, that the turn of i)olitical conditions here would cause the 

 United States to withdraw froiu the Phili])pines and establish Agui- 

 naldo at the head of an indei)endent government. Their leaders 



